Poetry allies itself with beauty - a supreme union - but never uses it as its ultimate goal or sole nourishment.
Saint-John PerseRead
It is enough for a poet to be the guilty conscience of his age.
Interpretation
What this quote means
A poet's role is to reflect the moral and ethical dilemmas of their time.
This quote emphasizes the responsibility of poets to serve as the moral compass or conscience of society by highlighting its struggles, injustices, and truths. Through their work, poets can provoke thought and reflection, urging society to confront uncomfortable realities and inspiring change.
Themes
PoetConscienceSocietyArtReflection
In practice
Example use cases
In a literary class discussing the role of artists in society, this quote could inspire students to explore how poetry can address contemporary issues.
More from Saint-John Perse
All quotes βIn truth, every creation of the mind is first of all 'poetic' in the proper sense of the word; and inasmuch as there exists an equivalence between the modes of sensibility and intellect, it is the same function that is exercised initially in the enterprises of the poet and the scientist.
Saint-John PerseRead
The poet existed among the cave men; he will exist among men of the atomic age, for he is an inherent part of man. Even religions have been born from the need for poetry, which is a spiritual need, and it is through the grace of poetry that the divine spark lives forever in the human flint.
Saint-John PerseRead
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